Posted on August 14 2020
Things seem to be getting back to normal after the latest flash flood. The rivers have cleared up quite a bit and have returned to ideal flows. What we need now is for the air temps to cool down so we can all spread out and enjoy the rest of the river system.
The midday sulfurs were late to the table with the bulk of them hatching, where I was, from about 1:30 to 2:30. There were sulfurs on the water before noon but the trout passed up the hors d'oeuvres and waited for the entrée. When the bugs got going so did the fish but man were they careful. Got refusals from several good fish and never got one to eat. At least half of the fish I caught were two year old 12 inch hatchery fish. A couple of 13 inch wild trout highlighted the midday catch.
The evening fishing was a different story. Tired of both the crowds and fishing the same pools over and over again, I drove over to the UE where both the water level and temp were ideal. Saw very few fishermen, no bugs and but two risers. Hooked and landed a beautiful 18 inch brown (the kind with only a dozen big red spots) and hooked and lost a 14/15 inch brown that rose while I was walking out. Saw a beaver, over a 100 geese that never shut up, a pair of mallards and one squeaking wood duck.
Last year I caught more fish in the UE than in the WB. This year the WB, even with all it's boats and fishermen has been my salvation. Maybe I've just been to the UE on the wrong days but I don't think so. Would appreciate hearing from any UE fishermen (a secretive group if ever there was one) on their experiences there this year.
The UE has fished poorly all season. The hatches in most cases seem to be sparse with far fewer surface feeding fish.
Many people believe far to many fish have been killed. The UE is a small river and if that’s true it may take a significant amount of time to recover.
It would be nice if D.E.C. took note of this and provided a significant increase in law enforcement.
Next year will be telling hopefully the river will return to normal .
Agree on UE. Very poor all year compared to years past. I did well there all year last year. Even in April and early may when the water was high enough to float it didnt fish well from a boat.